An Alliance for those who enjoy letter writing and postal adventures.

Postal Goodies

December 26, 2014

We will be retiring the original L.W.A. Member stationery design at the end of December. It will be replaced with a new design that will represent our community. We will reveal the new design soon, but I can tell you that it will still be printed on the mauve laid paper with black ink, so there will be some similarities. If you like the original design, the one that started our organization in 2007, then order a set for yourself before they are gone.

December 08, 2014

The lovely Amy Bogard made us a very special holiday fuaxstage. The stamp has her character, Ginger Small, front and center along with a choir of her friends. The "Hamst-air Post" kills me as well as the overall cute of the artwork. I'll be using this on my holiday cards this year for sure. If you would like to use this fauxstage, download the sheet here or by logging into the membersite.

Interested in Ginger's backstory? Here is what Amy has to say:

Ginger Small's character began with a 'real live' hamster named Ginger who was lucky enough to live with a family who cherished her and gave to her the seeds of a great story through the adventures they shared with her while they had her as a pet. She went everywhere with them! Vacations, long term work assignments and there was even talk of her having a summer in Paris. This never came to pass, as a hamster's life, like many, is never long enough for all desired adventures. I am fortunate to be friends with this wonderful family and once Ginger had gone to the Great Beyond, I was inspired to begin sending postcards back to them with Ginger's imagined adventures growing larger and more far flung with time. My friends still have all their postcards and I have enough adventures to fill many books of Ginger's travels. In January I am headed to Taos NM to work for a few weeks on pinning down a publishable version of one of these adventures. Postcards and the magic of the post will feature heavily in her story no matter how it comes together, as it is this very magic that helped to build her character to begin with. Hopefully this little stamp can add a small touch of whimsy to holiday mailings crisscrossing the globe in the coming weeks.

You can find out more about where the stamp image came from here as well as more information on Ginger Smalls future here.

This fauxstage is available to members and the public alike. Please spread the good cheer to those you love through good mail. Thank you to Amy for offering to create a holiday artiststamp for us!

December 05, 2014

I do not know much about basketball, so I can't conduct an educated conversation about these stamps. I do enjoy that these are a two design release. Each design showing Wilt in the team uniform that he won an NBA Championship with: Philadelphia 76ers and the Los Angeles Lakers. I also really love that this are long vertical stamps. I've been enjoying how the 2014 stamp releases have really been playing around with layout, size, and orientation. Sports fan or not, I think this layout and color scheme will look great on some mail art!

November 28, 2014

Our friend Lea Redmond (of World's Smallest Post Service fame) is at it again! She's got a new, already fully-funded Kickstarter going for a new project. It's called Keep Me Posted and it tells a story over a series of six tiny letters. The first mailing has a magnifier, collectible box, and the first letter to start the story. It's an adorable concept and I think anyone, young or old, would get a kick out of it. Lea's projects are always a delight and I don't think there's a more unique gift out there. Well done Lea! Can't wait to read the whole story and see what you do next!

November 14, 2014

I recieved a notice from one of my favorite printers that they are donating 100% of the proceeds of this postcard pack to clean water. That means not just the profits; they are donating the entirety of the purchase price of the pack. I can vouch for the quality of Artifact Uprising's prints and postcards. They consistently impress me with what they do. They also link the charity directly in case you just want to help, no carrot needed.

September 15, 2014

At our social on Saturday, an attendee asked where they could buy excellent stationery. The obvious reply was "From us!", but we have friends and neighbors on the Internet who are also great resources for amazing stationery. Our letter-loving compatriot, The Missive Maven, listed a wonderfully comprehensive guide to her favorite sites, but I'd like to make some additions.

Paper Pastries - The source of the custom stamps in the photo above. Margaret also offers calligraphy services, office supplies and a full line of wonderous products that I have a hard time keeping out of my shopping cart.

GREER - My homebase stationery store in Chicago also has a premier web shop. I just sent my mother shopping on it the other day because she needed "the world's best baby card." You can also find gifts here of unparalleled excellence. If you get a present from me, it most likely came from Greer.

Saturday Morning Vintage - My mailart runs towards the collage side of things and I am obsessed with using vintage items. There's nothing quite like that aged quality. The paper pack selections here are particularily good.

European Paper - The name says it all. The blog often has a lot of contests and specials happening.

So between the Missive Maven's list and my additions here, no one should be wanting for stationery. These are the best of the best places and I'm happy to be a part of them. Happy shopping! Pretend it's for back-to-school. For some of you, I'm sure that's even true.

September 03, 2014

I... I just don't know. I think having a robot write a card is neat, but I don't want a robot to write my cards. I want to write my cards. I like that they are using high-quality cards from creators that I admire, but I'd still rather buy my cards in the physical world and write them there too. No sir. I don't like it. Do you? Tell us in the comments. If you want to try Handwrytten, here's a coupon: "ORANGEBEAUTIFUL" for $2.00 off your first card.

August 15, 2014

I have written about my sources for vintage postage before, but Nole of Oh So Beautiful Paper recently posted a great article about other online stamp suppliers. If you aren't lucky enough to live in Chicago and go see the Stamp King, these places could be your next best bet. Happy Mailings!

July 21, 2014

The fence post outside my front door tells me I'm beautiful every day, thanks to a shiny, silver sticker someone put there. These stickers are a part of the You Are Beautiful project by Matthew Hoffman. I've seen these stickers around and about in my travels for years now and they never fail to make me smile. Imagine my delight to find out that you can send in a S.A.S.E. (that's a Self Addressed Stamped Envelope) to request five stickers for free. I love anything involving S.A.S.E.s; they alway seem so nostalgic. I'm the kind of person that forgets they've sent off for things and am always puzzled by unfamiliar handwriting in the mailbox until I realize it is my own. Additionally, I'm kinda tickled that their P.O. Box is in the same office that ours is housed in. I feel like we're neighbors. Send them a thank you note for bringing joy, enclose your S.A.S.E. and get some wonderful stickers in return. What a nice project.

June 16, 2014

Eagle-eyed watchers of the Members-only website may have noticed some additions over the weekend. We've finally perfected our official seals featuring the Letter Writers Alliance crest. There's a standard version and an option to customize your seal with your member number. Make those letters extra important! You'll have to log-in with the username and password and remember to refresh the page to see the new things for sale. Now, back to stamping all of my outgoing letters,

LWA Mission

In this era of instantaneous communication, a handwritten letter is a rare and wondrous item. The Letter Writers Alliance is dedicated to preserving this art form. Prepare your pen and paper, moisten your tongue, and get ready to write more letters!

Upcoming Events

March 15th (Sunday)Chicago, ILL.W.A. Lab
Mix & Mailology3:30pm-5pm CST
Take the bite out of the Midwestern chill and warm up with us in the L.W.A. Clubhouse. Learn the secrets of mixing an excellent Hot Toddy and finding in it inspiration for making mail art. Our solutions, both alcoholic and artistic, will surprise you. We will also offer Not Toddies for those who prefer sobriety.$25
Alcohol, snacks, and all mail art materials included

April 12th (Sunday)World-WideL.W.A. Book Club3pm-4pm CST
The very first meeting of the L.W.A. Book Club! Join Kathy, Donovan, and special guest Ana Reinert (of The Well Appointed Desk) via live video while we discuss 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff. Discussion and further info can be found on the Goodreads book group page.Event Page

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The Management

The L.W.A. was established in 2007 by Kathy Zadrozny & Donovan Beeson. These two ladies manage every aspect of the Alliance, from design, to packing orders, to maintaining the website. The L.W.A. is a labor of love and we are happy you have joined us in sharing a love for letters.